Operation: Hero Strike
by Those-Who Walk-Alone
Summary: The new version 5 Spartans have emerged.  ODSCs.  Now they must face a mission so dangerous that they may be doomed forever.
1. The beginning of the end

CHAPTER 1

Mission Log Recording

Year 2756

-START:-

-3-

-2-

-1-

**ProLog**

I never got used to the stomach-lurching launch from a UNSC assault frigate down into a planet.

Anyway, I am an ODSC (Orbital Delta Strike Commando), the 5th version of the original SPARTANS, and 5 times more advanced and strong.

You'll hate being one. Now back to my story.

You probably know how the SLAM! of the HEV when it hits the ground, and it is probably not entertaining. I almost vomited from the impact. But there was no time to think about it now. Grabbing my MA5B Assault Rifle and a BR55 Battle Rifle, I kicked the hatch open, and dashed out.

We were in the city StormWhirl. The streets were filled burning wreckages and dead bodies. I grimaced at the sight of them.

Two Grunts launched green balls of plasma at me from behind some bushes, but I jumped over the plasma, did a somersault, and gave the Grunts headshots with my DMR.

More Grunts appeared, along with Elite reinforcements. Firing randomly with my MA5B, I felled an Elite, grabbed his energy sword, and charged into another pack of Elites.

If they were holding energy swords, I was doomed, but no, they were holding plasma rifles. Easy. Stabbing an Elite, I slashed out with my energy sword, cut off most of their heads, and…

…and I found the glow of a plasma repeater aimed straight at me.

Now I finally knew why my teammates said I was too rash. I always got myself into a sticky situation like this whenever I charged into a pack of enemies.

Out of nowhere, a bullet tore into the Elite's head and he fell to the ground.

I turned. It was my team.

Delta Team, we were called. We always succeeded in our missions, no matter what. Unlike other ODSC teams, we were the only team to not have any of us KIA, or should I say, MIA, since it was a directive by ONI.

Other ODSC teams had also dropped into the planet Carbonite, and they were also attacking enemies. By the way, the planet was called Carbonite because of its massive deposits of carbon, not because the UNSC decided to give the planet some crappy name.

Allow me to introduce my team.

Delta 1: Drake. Our team's best melee combatant and our team leader.

Delta 2: Hope. Our team's heavy weapons specialist.

Delta 3: Will. Our team's best sniper.

Delta 4: Jaina. Our team's best tactitian.

Delta 5: Amy. Our team's best headshot ODSC.

Delta 6: Me. Our team's best troublemaker.

You can guess who it was who saved me. Clue: bullet tearing through the Elite's head?

If you didn't guess Hope you are as dumb as me.

"Why did you just risk your life again?" she said, exasperated.

Hope was my childhood friend and we often competed with each other when we were young. She still cared about me, just as I did care about her.

Drake ran up to us. "Status report," he said to me.

"Area is secure. But we lost radio contact with the camp," I said.

"Dammit!" It was Jaina. She has a hot temper, by the way. "We're too late!"

"Don't worry," Hope told her. "We're on a retake mission, so we just lost some troops, not the whole battle."

Will came up, dual wielding two Magnum Pistols.

"Where did you get the extra Magnum Pistol?" Amy asked.

"It was on the ground," he replied. "Is it anyone's?"

"Mine." Jaina went up and took her pistol back.

"Careless," Will said to me on a private COM channel. I rolled my eyes.

We walked further ahead and found the camp. Jaina was right. We were too late. The whole camp was obliterated, and bodies of UNSC marines were strewn everywhere. Not to mention the bodies of some Grunts, Jackals, Elites, and surprisingly one Hunter.

"Oh well," I said, "Let's start the looting!"

We began picking up the ammunition clips from the dead marines and Covenant troops. When we were done Drake said, "I thought that we could have taken a ride to the next base. Now we can't." He pointed to a smoking wreck of a Warthog.

"Just great," Hope said. "Now we're gonna have to walk —"

"HEY!" Will yelled. "Get over here!"

We ran over, and found a Gauss Warthog and another Scorpion in a camouflaged garage.

Amazing, I thought. Absolutely amazing. Even we could not pull off such a trick.

"Jaina, drive the Warthog," Drake ordered. "Will, man the turret. Amy, get in the passenger seat of the Warthog. Hope and Malcolm, get on the sides of the Scorpion. Pick off any hijackers. I'll drive the Scorpion."

Reloading my MA5B, I jumped onto the side of the Scorpion as Hope picked up a plasma repeater and followed suit.

It wasn't long before we came to the bridge. It was a long one that stretched over a large river and was connected to the city Omega. There were some Jackals and Grunts manning plasma turrets in front of the bridge, but were easily picked off. After all, what chance do plasma turrets have against a Gauss Warthog and a Scorpion?

"Malcolm, if you see any Ghosts or Revenants on the bridge, get off and hijack them," Drake ordered, and just as he told me that, a dozen ghosts and half a dozen Revenants arrived.

Well, what a surprise. Jumping off the tank, I positioned myself in the path of a Revenant. The Elite driver fired dozens of plasma bolts at me, but I dodged all of them, jumped when the Revenant got close, and crushed the Elite's head with my legs.

"Reinforcements inbound," Hope reported, and indeed, more Scorpions and Warthogs were appearing. It was Calm Team and Black Team, along with some ODSTs that were driving Warthogs.

The resistance on the bridge was less than easy to handle, and soon we were moving at a slow pace. Occasionally Mongoose or Revenant scout teams would be sent ahead of the Scorpions, but most of the time we were guarding the tanks. It wasn't long before I decided to turn up my radar range, and found contact waiting at the end of the long suspension bridge.

"Sir, we have contact at the end of the bridge," I reported to Drake, taking out my binoculars. "Looks like a whole army of Wraiths."

"All teams, hold position," Drake ordered. "We'll think up a strategy to get past the enemy line."

**Log 1:**

Something always went sticky on ODSC missions.

Snags, we called them. Our mission was to get to the next fortress, Omega Fortress to provide backup and set up a reinforcement beacon. The fortress should not have been far away, but now because of the Wraiths, we were slowed.

In the sky, the whirring of Banshees were heard.

Banshees?

"Air assault!" I yelled, as the Banshees dropped their Banshee bombs on us. Luckily for us, they all missed, but we knew we would not be so lucky next time.

And at that point, I hit a breakthrough to the problem of the Wraiths.

Jet-packing off the ground, I grabbed onto the wing of a Banshee. Drake followed suit. Soon Will had done the same and we hijacked the three Banshees, showing no care for the Elites and the Brute who had fallen to death.

We landed on the ground, all understanding what to do.

"Calm Team and ODSTs, remain here and guard our vehicles. Black Team, you guys will search for Hornets. If possible, please get some Vultures, in case of any Scarabs." Drake loved ordering people around.

We were lucky. There were 6 Modified Vultures (they had no need for extra gunners) and 3 Hornets. And honestly, it felt good driving a Vulture.

Black Team preferred the Hornets and Banshees. According to them, they were 'easier to fly'. Calm Team and the ODSTs would drive the Scorpions and Warthogs on the ground. We set out immediately. The Wraiths spotted us soon enough, but even though the Hornets were not as fast and agile as Banshees, they pulled through, and successfully destroyed some of the Wraiths. Some Scorpions were destroyed, but the drivers jumped out in time, and the rest of the Wraiths were easy pickings for the Vultures.

But Drake was right…

An ODST Warthog blew up from a green laser. A big one.

And what else could it be other than a Scarab.

I hate Scarabs.

This time the Scarab blasted another ODST Warthog into smithereens, killing the ODSTs with it without them even having a chance to scream out a death cry, while the other land vehicles scrambled to cover.

From their vantage point the Scorpions kept up a continuous salvo of machine gun fire and tank shells. Hornets and Banshees flew around the Scarab, launching missiles and dropping Banshee Bombs. Firing Argent V Missiles from our Vultures and smaller missiles from our vertical missile launchers, we peppered the Scarab with bullets with our GUA-23 Autocannons.

With six Vultures along with Banshee and Hornet reinforcements, the Scarab got owned. It exploded in a shower of plasma blue sparks and purple metal.

The Scorpions emerged from their vantage points.

"Did we lose anyone?" Amy asked. Drake ordered a status report.

An ODSC named Matthias reported through the COM channel, "Jack got vaporised. Half of the ODSTs are dead. Luke's Main Battle Tank is so damaged that we can't drive it anymore."

There was a pause.

"Commander," I said, "we are not far from the base. If we can get there we can repair our vehicles and use Omega Fortress as our base."

"Good point, 323," Drake replied. "Right, let's get to Omega Fortress now!"

With new hope renewed in our hearts, we set out once again.

**Log 2:**

A scan was ordered from Omega Fortress (OF) to make sure UNSC troops were driving the vehicles, and not Elite or Brute hijackers.

We had arrived at OFG (Omega Fortress Gate). Orders were issued out, and the rocks slid to the sides. Yes, OF was concealed inside a humongous rock cliff. Turrets could be moved out of the rock face to engage contact. The top of the cliff was a large landing pad for Dropship-77 Troop Carriers, also known as Pelicans, UH-144 Falcons, and even AV-14 Attack VTOL Hornets. OF had separate landing pads known as AL-45 Energy Pads for Vultures where shields could be activated so that repairs could be done on the Vultures safely.

The occasional Shade turret was seen at the top of the cliff, most of them were missile pod launchers and chain gun turrets. Plasma turrets were also there, as they were at the top of OFG, along with other types of turrets. It was only at the gate that we saw some Gauss Turrets, and on top of the cliff was, surprisingly, one effingly huge MAC.

Calm Team and the remaining ODSTs drove the Scorpions and Warthogs in. Black Team proceeded to the large landing pad, while we piloted our Vultures to the AL-45s. After landing, I got out of the pilot seat, and a Marine brought me a SEGWAY and a small baton.

"What's this?" I asked, holding up the baton.

"We will explain it to you later, sir," said the marine. "For now, please head down to the 5th floor, turn to your left and head straight forward until you see a door with the sign 'Visitors' Lounge'."

I did as he said, and found other SEGWAYS parked outside the visitors' lounge. Entering the room, I found all the ODSCs and ODSTs sitting on couches, drinking Coke.

"Have a seat," a man who appeared to be a captain said.

I grabbed a Coke and sat.

"Greetings to all," the man said. "I am Captain John Keyes."

We immediately stood up and saluted.

"At ease," Captain John said. We sat down.

"Welcome to Omega Fortress. As you all know that we are loyal to the UNSC, thus we use their technology more than captured Covenant technology, but we have something special here. You see the baton in your hands? Well, this was developed by us, Omega Inc. If you sprint before jumping, break the baton into two, put the pieces by your side, a light cycle will appear."

He pressed a button on his HOLO-Watch, and a hologram popped up from the floor. An animation on how to 'develop' a light cycle using a baton appeared.

"If you can get anyone to slam into the light ribbon trailing behind the light cycle, the enemy vehicle will explode. You can all see how you drive it, but in fact near the rear wheel there is a gunner seat. The Type-23 Light Cycle is equipped with plasma guns, similar to the ones used by the Covenant Ghosts."

"Impressive," an ODST remarked.

Suddenly the alarm rang.

"Darn it," the same ODST remarked again, as we rushed out of the room. Forgetting the SEGWAYS, we ran for the platforms.

As we dashed for our vehicles, I heard Captain John's voice in our helmet. "ODSC 323, you and the rest of the ODSTs will use the light cycles for battle."

But instead of heading for the door, I went for the roof. I saw the ODSTs developing light cycles and racing out just before I ran up the stairs. I wanted to develop my light cycle in mid-air.

Running off the roof, I jumped and positioned my two baton pieces as shown and…

…the light cycle did not develop. In its place was a light jet.

What?

Light jet?

It was similar to a Banshee but I could tell that the light ribbon trailing behind me was for the same purpose as the light cycles.

AWESOME!

The attackers were just another army of Wraiths. Though I did not have bombs to drop, the laser cannons were just fine, and I was able to successfully destroy some Wraiths. Suddenly a blue ball of plasma hit me…

**Log 3:**

I woke up feeling groggy, seeing all my teammates around me. The first thing that happened was that Captain John reprimanded me on doing such a stunt, then explaining why a light jet developed instead of a light cycle, which I shall not elaborate on.

I had survived, but was in bad shape. I had suffered two-degree burns on my right side of my body. Apparently we had fended off pretty well. The gates required some minor repairing, turrets were being repaired or replaced, and repairs were already being made for the damaged vehicles. Captain John also mentioned that we were free to use the armoury any time we liked to replace damaged gear with newer pieces.

Amy reported that the reinforcement beacon had already been set up. ODST reinforcements had already been dropped from our assault frigate, the UNSC _Hurricane_, and the UNSC destroyer _Lockdown_ had sent in a new ODSC team, known as Alpha Team. Alpha Team had already told us that more and more UNSC ships were being sent to Carbonite, after a stray drone had captured pictures of an amassing Covenant fleet that was coming to send reinforcements to the current Covenant forces on Carbonite. Thus more reinforcements would be arriving on the planet soon.

I felt fit enough to get up on my feet again, and together all four ODSC teams headed to the armoury. It was impressive, large and with lots of slots for new pieces of gear. There was also a 3-D image reality developer, which meant you could design your own gear and it would be materialised for you.

Alpha Team did have something in common; all of them loved using DMR Rifles. They said the scope would be useful, though I do not see why one bullet per shot was better than a three-round burst from a BR55. Calm Team's ODSCs all liked MA5B Assault Rifles, while Black Team preferred the sub-machine guns. Our team would pick weapons separately.

Calm Team and Black Team decided to go on to Cyclone Fortress to provide reinforcements. It was a pity, since they were ranked in the top twenty ODSC teams and were such good friends. Then again, Alpha Team is rank number 2 while just as good friends, while we are top of the list.

It was 3 pm, and I was standing on the top of the cliff. The scenery was picturesque, and I had brought along a mission binocular scope (binoscope) just for fun. Admiring the scenery through the binoscope, I admired every detail of it, even the purple shapes that descended out of the clouds.

Wait a minute. Purple?

In a panic, I scanned again, and I saw the notorious shapes of the Phantom dropships. There were 34 of them, each carrying Wraiths on their backs. This was not good at all.

I activated the alarm icon in my helmet, sending a report of what I had seen to OF bridge. In a matter of minutes marines rushed out of and up onto the cliff, manning their respective battle stations. ODSTs rushed out on their light cycles and my team made a beeline for the Vultures. More marines scrambled onto Warthogs and Scorpions.

Hornets were deployed in a matter of seconds, followed by squadrons of Pelicans and Falcons. Captured Banshees were seen streaking purple trails through the sky. Our Vultures opened the Archer Missile pod hatches and safeties so that they could be launched when necessary. Within 3 minutes we were up and about, ready for battle and fingering the controls in anticipation.

The Phantoms dropped their deployments of Covenant troops and Wraiths. Apart from the ones who were driving the Wraiths, there were no Grunts of Jackals. The troops were only Elites, Brutes and a fairly high number of Hunters.

This could be bad.

-END LOG-

Chapter 2

-PROCEEDING TO 3RD PERSON VIEW-

-3-

-2-

-1-

ODST Matthias was not enjoying his time as an ODST.

Because he was now stuck in an all out war with only a Magnum pistol and a DMR.

Oh well, he thought. I've just got to make use of what I have.

He saw a fellow ODST fall, felled by a beam rifle shot. Those idiots on the Phantoms still had the guts to try and take out ground troops when the ODSC team Delta Team were trying to eliminate them. He grabbed the ODSTs sniper rifle, dropped his Magnum and jumped on a Hornet's passenger seat. Another ODST, Williams, grabbed a Spartan Laser and jumped onto the Hornet's other passenger seat.

"Hold on," the ODSC pilot said in Matthias COM channel.

The Hornet took off, dust swirling around its solid metal frame.

Matthias could see Pelicans and Falcons lifting off, preparing to engage the enemy. The Hornet went into a turn, and as it tilted, Matthias took aim through the sniper's Oracle scope and picked off a few Elites on a Phantom with headshots.

The Hornet tilted to the other side and Matthias could see another Phantom inbound. The Hornet vibrated softly as the ODSC pilot fired the Hornets guns. Brief thumps resounded through the Hornets frame as missiles launched. Williams then aimed the Spartan Laser at the Phantom's turbines and began to charge it. There was a flash of red, and the next thing Matthias could see was the smoking wreck of what once was a Phantom falling out of the sky, crashing down on a few Wraiths and many squadrons of enemy soldiers.

Serves them right, Matthias thought.

Meanwhile, ODSC Hope -557 was having trouble in the skies, after being cornered by 3 Phantoms.

She fired the autocannons at them, only to see the bullets bounce off harmlessly off the armour of the dropships. She cursed inwardly, then saw a red flash of light shooting out of one of the Hornet passenger seats. The laser hit the turbine of a Phantom and the dropship was rendered unflyable, falling straight down on Covenant troops.

That's it, Hope thought, and aimed her autocannons at the turbines of the Phantom. The rumble of the autocannons resounded through the cockpit as they fired and the Phantom crashed into the ground, again crushing more ground troops. She locked on 5 missiles on another Phantom's turbine and launched. Destruction was inevitable. Her teammate, ODSC Malcolm-323 had copied her technique and destroyed two more Phantoms.

It was normal that all Phantoms were soon destroyed.

Ground troops tried to retreat, but Omega's marines picked them off. The entire strike force was obliterated, though our side also suffered considerable losses. Delta Team headed back to the Energy Pads for repairs.

Hope was exhausted, but that was normal. Chief Locke had told the platoon that tiredness after a battle, even if you did very little activity, was bound to occur. She removed her weapons from the holders and proceeded directly to her bunk. She then removed her armour, did not even bother to shower, and fell asleep.

She was awaken by the sound of her bunk door opening. It was Malcolm. In his two hands was a tray, of which on top were two steaming plates of fish and chips.

"Ah, you're awake," Malcolm remarked. Hope was silent.

"John told me to get you some dinner," He continued. "Mind if I eat here?" He served Hope one of the plates.

"Nope, I don't mind." Hope smiled, and tucked in voraciously. She hadn't had lunch, and the first sound she heard besides Malcolm opening her door was the sound of her stomach rumbling. The fish was crisp and fresh, and the fries were not so salty, neither was it bland, just perfect.

"Oh yeah, we received new orders."

New orders were usually never good orders. Still, some were exceptions.

"We have been assigned to wipe out all the Spires on Carbonite. OF will provide backup and the necessary equipment."

Hope gasped. This was a Class-1 mission! She had always dreamed of going on one, and it was coming true.

"However, OF will not let us use the Vultures as they are too slow. Instead, we will be provided E93 Booster Frames."

"When do we start our mission?" Hope asked, though she already could guess the answer.

"Now."

Chapter 3

The booster frames were ready.

Malcolm gripped the controls tightly. He had gone through booster frame simulations before, but not real flights. He would have to adapt to the vehicle quickly.

Around him, marines were running around the place, preparing Rapid Assault S63 Skyhawks and the huge Mass VTOL N96 Transport-Assault Gunship. Pilots in their Dreadnaut BD37s moved as fast as possible to the Gunship. The recently deployed pomp regiment floated at high speeds towards VTOL W80 Troop Carriers.

Their commander, Baby Tech, piloted his jetpack-equipped pomp Dreadnaut BD37.

"Stay safe, ODSCs," he reminded Delta and Alpha Team. "We'll be there for backup soon, so just hold them off for a while."

The first Spire was 100 kilometres away, so Delta Team just needed a 15 minute ride on their booster frames to get there. They hung suspended by claws under a cliff ledge. Their countdown to mission start was ticking away at the top of each ODSCs interior visor.

It was now 5 seconds to launch.

4 seconds left.

3 seconds more.

2 seconds.

1.

Launch.

The claws creaked, and there was a stomach lurching drop before there was a boom, and the thrusters of the booster frames activated.

Booster frames were designed to penetrate a Spire's shields. So were all vehicles at OF, but not standard UPA vehicles. The nearest Spire's shield was just outside OF, so the ODSC teams passed through and into the next city, Luthemsa.

It was not a pretty sight.

Though the smell of smoke was filtered by the M78 Armor Mach-VI's filters, fire and black smoke could be seen everywhere. The Spire was up ahead, with Seraph reinforcements.

"Optimise mobility!" Drake yelled, and our wings expanded to show an arsenal of missiles. Delta Team came in at full speed, GUA-45 Rapid-Fire Autocannons blazing. Seraphs went down like rain.

The ODSCs' objective was to find the control panel and deactivate the Spire, at the same time planting a bomb on the controls. Mission timers showed that they had at most 5 minutes before NEMNCC reinforcements arrived. Hope and Malcolm both knew how dangerous a combination of Nipfish and Hunters proved to be. They had almost been annihilated by a squadron of them.

The last of the Seraphs went down and the ODSCs soon found the control centre. Alpha Team was deposited there, along with Jaina, Drake, Amy and Will. Delta Team's four team members were armed with SPNKr missile launchers.

Reinforcements had now arrived. The UPA gunship was rotating the Spire and picking off ground troops. Hope put her booster frame into a sharp turn and ended an Elite's career in the NEMNCC military by firing a barrage of bullets into his head.

The Spire soon blew up and the troops gave a huge cheer and headed back to OF. On the way, there was some radio static in the gunship, and Baby Tech tried to make head or tail out of the fuzzed message.

"Crackle…crac…under…crackle…tack! Requ…crackle…forcements! Crackle…frigate…! Crackle…help...ahhhhhhh! ...crackle…zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz…"

Instinct told Baby Tech that there was trouble.

"Pilot!" He yelled. "Fly faster! I think OF is being attacked by a NEMNCC Frigate!"

Alpha Team reached OF first as Delta Team was guarding the gunship.

The horror unfolded before their eyes. A NEMNCC frigate rained plasma down on OF, blasting most of its defences to smithereens. The smoking wreckages of vehicles were everywhere, and marine and pomp bodies were strewn all over the floor. The remaining troopers retreated back into the rock fortress, while the frigate continued the barrage of plasma bolts.

The gunship arrived and the rest of the army. The retaliation assault had begun.

Vehicle after vehicle launched their full arsenal at the shielded star cruiser. Plasma streaked through the sky, turning any vehicle black and smoking. Marines screamed as nipfish bit their heads off, while the roar of Elites filled the air as pomps cut their lives short with railguns and zappers. Dreadnauts set the ground on fire, whilst Seraphs plasmarised flying vehicles, before being taken out by Scorpion tanks.

Delta Team retreated to OF for a brief moment before emerging with their Vultures. The frigate's shield flickered as missile after missile detonated on its surface. Alpha Team manned the Gauss platforms, whilst marines grabbed OL-4X Spartan Lasers and let fly with the deadly red beams of light. Pomps manned a Suppression RX-2 turret each, picking off any enemy who wanted to destroy the ground assaulters.

The horror continued as the frigate launched its full arsenal of Spirits and Phantoms. The UPA retaliated by sending out Pelicans, Falcons, Longswords, Shortswords and whichever flying vehicle they could find. OF was desperate to take them all out, because every dropship carried one Wraith each. Pelicans dropped their Scorpions on dropships to try and detain them.

Just then, the frigate launched a beam of concentrated plasma at OF. OF blew up in a shower of rock.

All troopers inside the base were vaporised instantly. However, a wee bit of consolation was that the debris crushed lots of ground troops and Wraiths.

It was the last straw. The hatred for the NEMNCC welled up inside the troopers and they fought with renewed energy.

Alpha Team launched all missiles from their booster frames after getting on them again and fired their Gauss cannons. Monitors grabbed platforms to move the tanks, and shells impacted on the frigate's shield. Delta Team launched all missiles at the frigate, Cataclysm or Archer and emptied their bullet supply. Skyhawks took out enemy Seraphs. The gunship launched their missiles too and used its ion cannon on the frigate.

The frigate exploded in a shower of blue fire and while sparks.

The troopers cheered, but Baby Tech was not happy. The OF's force had lost lots of vehicles and troopers and their base itself.

Drake had a suggestion.

"Sir, why don't we head to Cyclone Fortress? That way we have a new base and more troops!"

Chapter 4

Mission Log: 4

-3-

-2-

-1-

It had been a close call.

We soon went to Cyclone Fortress and met Calm and Black Team again. But there was no time for fancy greetings, even though some of the members from the two teams were gone for good. We ODSCs were soon put in a Troop Carrier and sent off to the next Spire to destroy. We were armed with shotguns or DMRs, with the occasional covenant weapons and grenade and rocket launcher, and were equipped with the latest enemy tracking technology.

But there was a problem.

We were not armed with our usual bomb. Now we had to activate the self-destruct sequence and get out of the blast range. Our bombs had been destroyed in the frigate's assault and CF's supply would come only 2 days later. We had to make do with hacking knowledge. Let me give you a round-up of who's doing what.

_**Priority List**_

Alpha 1 Paul: Hacker

Alpha 2 June: Shotgun defender

Alpha 3 Locke: Transport

Alpha 4 Chang: Shotgun defender

Calm 1 DJ: Turreteer

Calm 5 Mo: Turreteer

Black 3 Kurt: Heavy weapons defender

Black 5 Mike: Heavy weapons defender

Black 6 Pearl: DMR Defender

Delta 1 Drake: Shotgun defender

Delta 2 Hope: Heavy weapons defender

Delta 3 Will: Shotgun Defender

Delta 4 Jaina: DMR Defender

Delta 5 Amy: DMR Defender

Delta 6 Me: DMR and Needle Rifle Defender (I forgot where I got my Needle Rifle, but I keep it with me at all times.)

The troop carrier was also carrying a Hammer D56. They would be dropping us off there so that all vehicles could be used to guard CF, just in case a Destroyer came this time. The Hammer had been modified to go up to 210 km/h instead of its usual speed of 120 km/h. Two deployable Suppression RX-2turrets were also carried along to guard the control centre.

Our Hammer AI, Don, was chatting happily with Paul, and he was getting tired of having to reply to the AI, even though Paul himself was talkative.

We hopped off the Troop Carrier and everyone except me and Drake got into the Hammer. Locke got into the driver seat and plugged Don in. Drake retrieved his shotgun while I unmagnetised my needle rifle and we strapped ourselves on the sides of the vehicle. Don experimentally rotated the machine gun turret.

Locke drove the Hammer in the direction of Spire-327, and we soon met the resistance force. I fired a couple of needles into a Brute's body, watching him explode with satisfaction. Headshotting all other Elites, we moved closer towards the spire.


	2. Extra info on the story

Disclaimer:

Okay since I am new to I forgot to add a disclaimer

I don't own Halo.

UPA stands for UNSC-Pomp Alliance. For more about pomps, visit .com.

NEMNCC stands for Nipfish, Evil Mother Nature and Covenant Consortium. For more about Nipfish (or Nibfish because I don't know the spelling), visit .com.


	3. Assault on the Spire

Disclaimer: I don't own Halo. I decided to focus on an ODST and an ODSC at the same time because 1. They have the same letters and 2. I like ODSTs as well.

**Chapter 5**

**(-MISSION LOG CONTINUED-)**

**Code: BR78W3EFAC59**

We jumped off the Hammer just in time before an energy pulse blew the Hammer off its wheels. It flipped and landed back on the ground.

"Well, I wasn't expecting that," Don commented. After making sure Locke was okay, we charged into the control centre, but we should have known better than to make such a fatal mistake. Alpha 4 Chang was shot down by a barrage of needles from a golden Elite, while Black 6 Pearl was taken out by intense plasma fire. The rest of us took heavy damage on our shields.

"Omega 3! Bravo maneuver!" Drake yelled and we all ducked, rolled and took out as many bastards as we could with our combat knives before retrieving our usual weapons. Jumping off an Elite's body, I gave him a headshot and snatched his Energy Sword. Cleaving Jackals and Grunts into halves, I ran to the control panel and kicked the Elite guarding it. He gave out a cry of pain and I stabbed into fiercely before throwing his corpse right into a pack of Jackals.

I decided that close combat maneuvers would be best, so I threw away my DMR and picked up a plasma rifle. Blue bolts sailed through the air. Blood splattered. Our squadron finished off the rest of the resistance force.

Hope, Will and Amy escorted Paul to the control panel. I found Pearl's MA5B and swapped it for my plasma rifle. I picked up 8 clips for it and slammed one into the once empty barrel. 8 clips would have to do. 8 clips.

DJ and Mo set up the turrets and stood guard. I stood with Drake and June on the roof with our binoscopes. Gut feeling told me something was coming. Our team was inside the building. June decided to stay on the roof while I asked Drake to go back inside the building.

Just as we did so, plasma bolts rained down and killed all the ODSCs outside. Locke was still inside the Hammer that was heavily armoured.

A sense of doom and dread fell upon us.

Phantoms descended like swarms of hornets (the animals on Earth not the UPA vehicles). Wraiths were deployed and launched plasma balls at the control centre. The roof shook and debris broke off.

Paul was having trouble hacking into the NEMNCC network. He typed furiously on the light keyboard and constantly accessed the network translator for a translation of control instruction. We could not stay here for long, or else the roof might collapse on us.

"Paul, we don't have much time!" Amy warned.

"Darn!" Paul suddenly swore. "The bastards installed a better firewall into their controls. I can't hack it! I'm downloading it now into our software records for me to try to hack it at base and predict what kind of security system will be installed into the future."

Still, something had to be done about those Wraiths.

"Commander!" Hope reported. "Marine and ODST reinforcements are landing outside the shield border!"

**Chapter 6**

**ODST Log 1 -0- (-Ethan-) 17/9/2756**

I grabbed my BR55 and my Magnum and rushed out of the Pelican. I was a Scorpion driver cum ODST, so I still needed my basic equipment. The Main Battle Tank dropped from the dropship and I jumped into the driver seat. My assigned gunner, a Marine named Sam Brooks, jumped into the gunner seat. His bio-signs and his info was in my heads up display.

"Sam, a word of advice. Watch your head today!" I joked. Sam laughed back and said, "You watch your back too, Ethan!"

It was true. Even though two more marines were positioned on the sides of my Scorpion, it was sometimes not enough to keep Brutes or Elites from blowing my Scorpion up. I had a few close calls and had to switch tanks from time to time every time they got blown up. Today I had my friends Kyle and Rowan as my side gunners. They were armed with shotguns and rocket launchers, and were already poised to fire. I couldn't ask for better gunmen.

The tank rumbled and we set off. Other tanks began to join us a hordes of snipers took up positions behind rocks. Marines carried Assault Rifles and Grenade launchers, with the occasional Spartan Laser that was modified to have a lighter weight for normal troops to carry. The Pelicans lifted off and hovered outside the shield.

I selected a Wraith and, taking careful aim, blew off the plasma launcher. The Wraith blew up after a barrage of bullets from Sam's turret. Brutes came charging but were no match for my cannon, Sam's turret and Kyle's and Rowan's shotguns combined. I blew up some more Wraiths and aimed at the Spire, firing and the support structure. The shot fizzed under the energy shield.

"We were only supposed to hold off the attack for the ODSCs! Why did you shoot the Spire?" Kyle yelled above the whine of plasma and the bang of his shotgun.

"For fun!" I yelled back.

Suddenly a voice crackled in our headsets.

"All marines and ODSTs, this is Delta 6. We have been unable to deactivate the Spire, so we're gonna do this the hard and fun way! Everyone! Get into your Scorpions, Rocket or Gauss Warthogs and try to do some damage to the Spire's supports!"

Kyle laughed.

Out of the blue there was a bang behind the Scorpion and sparks flew.

"We're being hijacked!" I yelled, and scrambled out. Sam jumped out of the turret seat, Kyle and Rowan jumped, and we four took out the Elite hijacker. But it was too late. The Scorpion was too damaged to be used.

"Delta 6 said the hard way, so we're going up the Spire!" I yelled.

An ODSC ran up to us.

"I'm Delta 2," she said. "Has your Scorpion been hijacked?"

We nodded.

"Then follow me. We need the spare troops for our assault team. Delta 6 is taking command of the squadron."

We met up with a few other marines and the 'announcer', Delta 6. He was holding a captured needler rifle and was giving out instructions.

"We go inside the Spire and take the gravity lift up. Once we're there, we have to make a long jump down and land on the gravity safeties. That's for you guys. Though I have 4 extra jetpacks for those who don't want to back out."

The four of us stayed. The rest ran off with a horrified look on their faces. Mine was hidden by my polarised faceplate.

"Very well, marines," Delta 6 said. "You have these jetpacks, and CF has authorised me to give them to you permanently."

I didn't believe what I heard. Personal ODSC/Spartan gear? For me? Holy crap, I must be dreaming.

"All of you, you have 5 seconds to swap whatever weapons you feel you have no need for with MA5Ks. Starting now."

I tossed my pistol away and grabbed the automatic weapon.

"Hope, guard the rear." Delta 2, or Hope, nodded.

There was a minor resistance force of 3 Jackals in front of the gravity lift but before the four of us had a chance to squeeze the trigger of our MA5Ks Delta 6 took them out with headshots. He was lightning fast that we saw the needles fired from the gun before we understood what the hell was going on.

Delta 6 was whipped up the gravity lift, followed by Kyle, me, then Sam, then Rowan and finally Hope. When I reached the top I found bodies strewn on the floor already.

Jackals and Grunts came at us with plasma pistols. My MA5Ks armour piercing tore through their skin. Elites wielded energy swords and charged but were felled by Delta 6's legendary 'purple death'. Hope whacked an Elite brutally on his head with her fist and fired a barrage into his chest, watching blue blood spurt out.

Delta 6 reached the controls and punched it brutally, shutting down all programs. He then kicked the control hatch, ripped it open and slashed the wires with an energy sword. The Spire whirred and deactivated.

"Down we go," Hope muttered over the COM and we ran out onto the…

…there was nothing.

Where the energy platform had once been, there was empty space. Nevertheless, we jumped one by one and activated our jetpacks three-quarters down, arriving safely and the brown, dust covered surface.

"Nice one, marines!" Sam yelled and the four of us cheered, along with the rest of the assault force. The ODSCs remained silent.

Something told me that tragedy must have struck.


	4. Joy ride

Disclaimer: I don't own Halo. I just decided to stop the mission logs. And I would like to thank the writer of 'From Harvest to the Ark' for giving me inspiration. If I accidentally copy some of your ideas, please send me a message in my account inbox. Sniping based on Halo: Legends. Thx.

_Chapter 7: Joy ride_

**June 1, 2756 (Military Calendar)**

**Carbonite, Dracopia II System**

**[Ethan]**

Hell, it felt good to be back in the skies.

How I got assigned from Scorpion pilot to Falcon pilot, I don't know. But how I got assigned from ODST squad to Gamma Squad, consisting of Delta Team and me, Kyle, Rowan and Sam, plus two more humans, that I can tell you.

After the assault on the Spire, the ODSC Delta 6 had reported my 'outstanding performance' to FLEETCOM and the FC (Fortress Council), and they, as a reward for me, had specially promoted me to the newly invented rank of S.W.A.T. (Supreme WTF Acorn Trooper). The name's weird, to put it in plain English, it basically means I was in special ops and is authorised to help any Spartan or ODSC in combat.

Kyle and Sam manned the turrets. Rowan, along with the other two SWATs, William and Li, sat in the Falcon, chatting about their lives back on their home planets. Each of them clutched MA5Ks and AR88 DMRs. The rest of the ODSCs were driving a LAAG Warthog and Gauss Warthog. I could see them from the window and began to wonder what I had gotten myself into by joining the UPA military. Was it a life full of action, or was life about to turn into hell?

**[Malcolm]**

We were on the move again.

I manned the LAAG and swung it around experimentally. For the twentieth time since we set out from CF, Hope swore, saying that the swinging of the LAAG was making her dizzy. I laughed, but still stopped swinging it.

Hey, you still can't blame me, I was being shipped off to destroy an NEMNCC newly elected prophet, after receiving new orders, though the old one would still continue. My HUD showed that we were still 5 km away from the camp, so we might meet resistance.

But the resistance we met was far more dangerous than we thought.

We met an armada of Grunts, Jackals and Elites, and suddenly one of them overcharged his plasma pistol and launched. The glowing green spherical EMP struck our Falcon and the dropship crashed heavily into the ground, killing the Elite who fired the EMP. Oh, what irony.

Also, what the hell. How did those guys get so smart?

The LAAG rumbled and the shells ejected clicked on the floor of the Warthog as I continued to obliterate ground troops. Drake emptied his armour piercing MA5B clip and slammed another one in, then continued the barrage of assault rifle rounds. Driving with utmost expertise, Jaina splattered a group of Jackals and turned the Warthog around sharply. We were suddenly cornered by a pair of Hunters when Hope splattered one and Will fired a barrage of rockets into the other NEMNCC warrior. Amy then picked off a Brute who was about to hijack us from the front.

"If this is part of the NEMNCC armada, then what is the rest of it? How big is it going to get?" Drake yelled over the COM amidst the battle.

Just then, our downed Falcon regained its power and ODST Ethan lifted it up into the air again. Turrets blazed, rockets flew, bullets whizzed past, it was absolute chaos. Typical battle. Ethan turned the Falcon around for his turreteer to take out a pack of Grunts. He gunned the machine turrets on the flying craft and eliminated a squadron of Elites.

The partial armada was obliterated, finally. It had been exhausting.

Our Warthogs parked beside the Falcon, which had now landed. Drake accessed and received new info on our mission.

"Delta 6 is your best shot. Only he can make the shot with accuracy. Sniping position is at the mountain cave in your vicinity."

Our team looked at me.

How embarrassing.

I swapped my Magnum with a SRS99 Anti-Matériel Sniper Rifle and we headed on by foot.

FLEETCOM's designated sniping spot was a while away on foot. There were some survivors from our initial retaliation. Our ODSTs picked them off while my team defended me from the more elite Elites. I felt like a VIP, a different experience from being a total dolt.

We arrived at the sniping spot. The ODSTs retrieved their MA5Ks and guarded the spot. I retrieved my sniper rifle and set up. Drake snaked a fibre optic probe along the outside of the mountain cliff. We saw the Phantom dropship descend out of the sky.

The Prophet floated out. There was silence. On our side, there was silence as well as I turned my sniper by a bit and waited for the Prophet's head to float by, tightening my finger on the trigger. As I did, a thousand questions floated in my mind. How do we get out alive? Will we? How hard will the Covenant fight? Will I be able to shoot the Prophet? But as that final question floated by my mind, so did the Prophets head float by my sniper reticule.

I pulled the trigger.

_Bang!_

The Prophet fell to the ground, dead. The NEMNCC cried out in anguish, in one voice, one mind. It freaked me out a lot.

They all turned in my direction as the trail of the sniper round faded and they all screamed and ran off.

That was when we decided to leave.

Switching back to my assault rifle, we sprinted down the mountain. The Falcon and Warthogs were still there. I jumped up and manned the LAAG. The armada was not far away by then.

Ghosts and Revenants came racing up and attacked the Falcon first. Ethan struggled as the plasma bolts impacted on the flying vehicle, but luckily, only from the Ghosts, as he was skilful enough to avoid the Revenants' plasma mortars. We continued retreating.

I roared, and blew a Ghost to pieces with the turret. I turned on an unfortunate duo in a Revenant, blowing up the vehicle. Will launched barrages of missiles, swinging the turret around simultaneously to destroy more oncoming vehicles at one time. Explosions rocked the cliff and caused rocks to dislodge and crush even more enemy vehicles.

Will then fired a barrage at the cliff face, causing rocks to fall and block the path, buying us some time, but not a lot, because we knew that the armada would definitely have Wraiths, and rock versus Wraith is a pretty worthless battle. The Falcon was now smoking and Ethan was having a bit of trouble flying it, with it going at full speed, causing the Falcon to drop now and then.

Nevertheless, it was a major victory, and we were the victors. The sweet taste remained inside us as we took the drive back to base.

What a joy ride.


End file.
